The Mountain King

Chapter 13

The ground beneath her feet gave out, the room began to sway and her head felt heavy and weightless at the same time.

"What?" She managed to get out.

King Aramys paused his pacing and turned to face the princess. "It is all arranged, if all goes to plan, King Tomas will arrive in within the fortnight. A ship embarked to the East the very night you were... returned." The king grimaced, and returned to his pacing, stopping to pick through the platter of food laid out on the small table beside them. The scent of the various dishes sent a wave of nausea rolling through the princess.

"So soon?" her voice sounded thin.

The king didn't even look up again, only harrumphed and continued picking through the cold meats. They were the only people in the room, save for a guard standing at every entrance to the throne room. The princess tried to calm her racing heart by breathing long, steady breaths.

"Oh don't be so dramatic, girl."
She flinched as he stepped away from the table and loomed over her from the platform he was standing on. She couldn't stop herself from shrinking away from him under his cold gaze. His hand shot out and clamped around her wrist. She winced as he twisted it upward and pulled her closer.

"Don't even think about disappearing like last time. This is so much bigger than you." He leaned in and lowered his voice to a whisper. "This is what you were born for. This is all you were meant for, only this. Do not embarrass me again."

He released her, and the princess was already walking, as swiftly as she could to the closest door beside them.

Solmahrya knocked twice on the general's door, waiting politely for his response.

"Yes?" His deep voice was slightly muffled through the door.

She stepped through, and as soon as he caught sight of her, he closed the book he was holding and bowed deeply.

"Princess." His greeting sounded a little uneasy

"General." She said back coolly.

He straightened and set the book down on his desk. Stepping around it, he approached her and stopped an acceptable distance away.

"How can I help you, your highness?"

She turned and swept her gaze over the contents of the room. Her eyes settled on a map on one side of the general's desk, the centre of it overtaken with an enormous book opened somewhere in the middle. The map showed Kolteiria, a lop-sided, oblong strip of land dotted through the middle with triangular points witch represented the mountain range. The general, perhaps noticing what had caught her attention, stepped to the side slightly, blocking her view. Solmahrya regarded him from under her lowered lashes, letting all of her annoyance seep through that stare. He kept his eyes on the ground in front of her when he spoke.

"I am surprised that your highness is here without your protection detail, I must see that their punishment is adequately severe for their negligence."

"I wouldn't call it negligence, General." She stepped around him, ignoring his obvious displeasure as she poked about his office.

"Oh?" He asked in mock curiosity.

She levelled a tired look at him.

"Relax, General. They're outside."

She leaned over the map and traced a finger over the line of the river that ran from the East coast and Havendell to the inner towns. Her finger stopped at a scribbled name that made her pause. Fernrove sat near the end of the river, one of the furthest towns from the city, a wide spread of forest surrounding it, just as she remembered.

The general had moved closer, and before he could see where she had stopped she ran her finger upwards, North to the mountains. After the line of peaks drawn so simply, an expanse of forest land covered the entire Northern map. The words Vyrundi Lands were spread across it in neat, slim letters.

"Is there something I can assist you in finding, your highness?" He couldn't quite hide the irritation in his voice, and Solmahrya's own temper was growing shorter.

"You are responsible for Kolteiria's military, the Guard, and everything relevant to the country's safety, correct?"

"I am." He said hesitantly.

"Then if there were word of a threat to our boarders, you would take the necessary measures to ensure the safety of this city and the outer towns?"

The general said nothing for a moment, and the princess looked up at him, her face empty of any expression. "Would you not?" She pressed.

The general eyed her suspiciously now.

"If I received a report of a military threat, my first priority is the king's safety. And your highness' safety as well." His last few words held a strange weight, and her feigned haughtiness faltered momentarily.

"What about the outer villages?" She found herself asking, her voice a little weak.

"If an army were to threaten the safety of Kolteiria, their ships would have to pass through Havendell. The bulk of the Royal Guard are stationed here, for the protection of all the lives in the city, including the royal family."

Solmahrya couldn't help the heat rising to her face. She was losing patience for this dance and the general was clearly far too sceptical to be lead into this gently.

"What if the threat wasn't coming by sea?" She asked.

The general gave her a strange look. "With the desert to the West, and the mountains North, if a threat were to appear, it could only come from the East or South shores."

It was inconceivable that one person, let alone an army could cross the mountain barrier. She stepped closer, lowering her voice.

"General, what I am going to tell you now is no ruse. There is a dangerous enemy North of the mountains."

The general's face seemed to tighten, though she couldn't tell if he was anxious over the danger, or simply irritated that she was wasting his time. She continued.

"It's not the Vyrundi. A fleet of ships invaded and colonised the North, they plan to colonise all of Kolteiria."

"I don't know where you might have heard this, Princess," the general said carefully, "but even if there is an enemy force in the North, there is no way they would be able to cross the mountain barrier. It's impenetrable."

"I thought so too." She said, trying to keep her frustration from colouring her tone. "But they have found a way to send a person across. Only one, but the rest will come-"

"Your highness," the general cut her off, "are you saying there is one of these Northerners here, in Kolteiria?"

The princess swallowed, the weight of the implication she was making suddenly making her pause.

"There are two," she went on quickly "but the other is here to help us."

The general stepped closer, eyes locked onto her now. "Help us? Who is this other Northerner?"

She prayed the general believed what she was telling him.

"He came to the city with me."

~